Pestilence

Group Formation

The group was formed in Enschede , the Netherlands , in the mid-1980s by vocalist and guitarist Patrick Mameli , guitarist Randy Meinhard and drummer Marco Foddis. In this line-up, two demos were recorded - Dysentery (1986) and, with the arrival of Martin Van Drunen as vocalist and bassist, The Penance (1987). Both recordings were thrash metal in a style reminiscent of Possessed and Sepultura from the Schizophrenia album, and were able to capture the attention of Roadrunner Records . After signing to the label, Pestilence released their first full-length album, Malleus Maleficarum (1988), while continuing to work in the direction of brutal thrash. Shortly after the release of the debut album, Meinhard leaves the band and founds his thrash band Sacrosanct .

Composition Changes

The vacant place for a guitarist is occupied by Patrick Uterwijk, with whom the second album Consuming Impulse (1989) is recorded, which marked the complete departure from thrash and ensured Pestilence wide popularity among death metal fans. Meanwhile, Van Drunen leaves the band to join Asphyx , and thus leaves Pestilence without a bass player or vocalist.

To record the third record, Pestilence invited bassist Tony Choi, who was playing Cynic at the time. and the vocal again takes on Mameli. Testimony of the Ancients was released in 1991 and, being not as tough as previous releases, demonstrates the growing level of professionalism of musicians. After the June 1992 Dynamo Open Air festival, where Pestilence played on the same stage with Paradise Lost , Rollins Band , Prong , etc., not being a permanent member of the group, Tony Choi leaves the team to join Atheist , and Jeroen Paul Tesseling takes his place .

Disintegration and Reunion

Throughout its development, Pestilence has shown interest in styles and directions other than pure metal, and the material of their fourth album, Spheres (1993), has become a unique alloy of the already patented death metal and jazz fusion using guitar synthesizers. However, the chosen direction, however, did not suit either the fans or the Roadrunner bosses, and soon the band members unanimously decided to stop the band’s activity, having decided that the “creative peak” of the band’s musical career was achieved.

In 1994, Roadrunner released the album Mind Reflections , a collection of the band’s best things, and in 2006 Metal War Records released a live album, Chronicles of the Scourge , containing recordings of the band’s two performances in 1988 and 1989.

In early 2008, frontman Patrick Mameli announced on blabbermouth.net that “at the request of the fans” Pestilence would resume their activities and promised that the new material would be “much more technical and brutal than before.” In addition, Mameli emphasized that he did not intend to play with the old members of Pestilence, thus refusing to consider it a reunion. In October, along with Tony Choi as bassist and Peter Wildor of Darkane for the drums, Mameli records the fifth album, Pestilence Resurrection Macabre , which was released March 16, 2009.

In October 2009, Jeroen Paul Tesseling again took the place of the bassist, since late 2007 he has also been on the German death metal team Obscura ^[1] , and in December Mameli announced that Yuma Van Ekelen ^[2] became the new drummer for Pestilence after organized auditions ^. , who previously played with the Dutch death bands The New Dominion and Brutus. In April 2011, the album "Doctrine" was released.

Without a break, the group moved away from the public in order to start a new studio recording. The eight-string guitar is dominant in the musical stuffing of the album, which began to be used by Patrick Mameli and Patrick Uterviik. This brought brutality and low sound to the songs, which set a new standard in extreme music. “Eight-stringed guitars opened many doors for us. It allowed me to use many musical possibilities and give the sound brutality and power. It also gave me the opportunity to start singing in a higher range, since low singing would“ drown ”the voice in guitar parts. My voice sounds more assertive and intense than ever before, "says Patrick Mameli.

"Doctrine" signified the new composition of the group, which is now completely Dutch. Jeroen Paul Tesseling already participated in the recording of the album "Spheres" (1993). A new album was recorded and mixed at Woodshed Studio with the help of engineer Victor Bullock. On April 24, 2011, Mascot Records released its sixth full-length album, "Doctrine". Then the group goes on a tour in support of the release, in June the musicians act as support for Slayer at their concert in the Netherlands.

In January 2012, the band performs in Costa Rica with Dying Fetus. There are changes in the line-up - Stefan Fimmers becomes the new bass player, and Tim Yong sits behind the drum kit. With them, work begins on a new album. In 2013, a contract was signed with Candlelight Records for the release of the album, dubbed "Obsideo". November 11, finally, the album was released. The following year the group gives a number of concerts in support of a new work. Including a tour of Europe, Neurotic Deathfest, Lezard'Os Metal Fest. In July, a message was posted on the official Facebook page on the termination of the group. This was due to Patrick Mameli's desire to focus on the new Necromorph project. The group has recovered and will play in Kharkov at the festival

Current

• Patrick Mameli - guitar, vocals (1986-1994, 2008 - present)
• Jeroen Paul Tesseling ( Dutch: Jeroen Paul Thesseling ) - bass (1992-1994, 2010 - present)
• Patrick Uterwijk ( Dutch: Patrick Uterwijk ) - guitar (1988-1994, 2008 - present)
• Yuma Van Eekelen - drums (2010 - present)

Former members

• Randy Meinhardt - guitar (1986-1989)
• Martin Van Drunen - vocals, bass (1987-1990)
• Marco Foddis - drums (1986-1994)
• Kent Smith - Keys (1991)
• Tony Choi - Bass (1991, 2008-2009)
• Peter Wildor - drums (2008—2010)

• Dysentery (demo, 1987)
• The Penance (demo, 1987)
• Malleus Maleficarum (1988)
• Consuming Impulse (1989)
• Testimony of the Ancients (1991)
• Spheres (1993)
• Mind Reflections (compilation, 1994)
• Chronicles of the Scourge (live album, 2006)
• Resurrection Macabre (2009)
• Doctrine (2011)
• Obsideo (2013)
• Hadeon (2018)

• Pestilence on MySpace
• Land Of Tears Fan Site